Kevin Duffy: UConn fan behind effort for Jasper Howard monument

Updated 8:26 pm, Wednesday, April 23, 2014

FILE -- This is an Oct. 18, 2008 file photo showing Connecticut corner back Jasper Howard (6) trying to get the crowd into the game during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers, in Piscataway, N.J. Jasper Howard had his little sisters' names tatooed on his chest. His friends say it was a constant reminder of why he was at U Conn _ to provide his family with a better life than the one he had in Miami's Little Haiti. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
Photo: Mel Evans, AP

FILE -- This is an Oct. 18, 2008 file photo showing Connecticut...

EAST HARTFORD, CT - SEPTEMBER 12: Jasper Howard #6 of the Connecticut Huskies returns a punt against the North Carolinia Tar Heels on September 12, 2009 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

EAST HARTFORD, CT - SEPTEMBER 12: Jasper Howard #6 of the...

EAST HARTFORD, CT - SEPTEMBER 12: Jasper Howard #6 of the Connecticut Huskies returns a punt against the North Carolinia Tar Heels on September 12, 2009 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

EAST HARTFORD, CT - SEPTEMBER 12: Jasper Howard #6 of the...

EAST HARTFORD, CT - OCTOBER 31: Kashif Moore #82 of the Connecticut Huskies carries out the jersey of murdered teammate Jasper Howard #6 before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on October 31, 2009 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kashif Moore
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

EAST HARTFORD, CT - OCTOBER 31: Kashif Moore #82 of the...

University of Connecticut football cornerback Jasper Howard died in the early hours of Oct. 18, 2009 after being stabbed on campus outside a student dance.
Photo: Contributed Photo / University Of Connecticut, AP

University of Connecticut football cornerback Jasper Howard died in...

Victor Anderson of the Louisville Cardinals is tackled by Jasper Howard of the Connecticut Huskies.
Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Victor Anderson of the Louisville Cardinals is tackled by Jasper...

The UConn Marching Band forms the number "6" in the word "UCONN" in honor of Jasper Howard's jersey number during their pregame program before the start of Saturday's contest against Rutgers.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll, ST

Lisa Lowry envisions a granite "6" propped up on a granite base, the whole structure taller than anyone who stops by the Rentschler Field concourse for a picture with it. She sees a brass plate on the base with the inscription, "Live 365." She sees Jasper Howard's face and that unmistakable Jasper Howard smile.

Four and a half years ago, Lowry delivered a promise to Howard's girlfriend, Daneisha Freeman: "We won't let him be forgotten."

But Lowry, a UConn football season-ticket holder, has watched the physical remembrances fade as her beloved program has fizzled.

The JH6 stickers on the helmets were removed during Paul Pasqualoni's tenure. And when the school changed its logo, opting for a new hyper Husky, Lowry noticed the stickers were stripped from UConn's equipment bus, too.

"I just kind of felt like once those stickers got removed that we were really starting to lose that connection with the fans and the program," Lowry said. "Something more tangible and permanent needed to be done."

There's a mission, headed by Lowry and former UConn wide receiver Kashif Moore, to have a Jasper Howard monument in Rentschler Field by next fall's homecoming, which will mark five years since the cornerback was murdered during an on-campus scuffle. There's a petition circulating the Internet seeking support. Although she's connected with the new coaching staff and says they're on board, Lowry knows the decision is ultimately in the hands of Warde Manuel and the athletic department. She wants noticeable support -- something tangible -- before the idea is officially presented to Manuel.

There's a mission headed by Bob Diaco and this new staff to establish a new UConn football identity -- whatever that ends up becoming. There's a fresh logo, fresh coach, fresh start, ugly losses washed away.

Yet it's not as though UConn football doesn't have history, or history worth recognizing. Anyone around in 2009 -- of course Manuel and Diaco were not -- remembers waking up to the tragic news on the morning of Oct. 18, 2009. Players remember gathering for a 6 a.m. team meeting. Fans remember the candlelight vigil outside the Student Union that Wednesday, 1,000 or so mourning Howard's death right where it happened.

We all remember the tears welling up in Randy Edsall's eyes and Sio Moore hoisting Howard's No. 6 jersey high in the air after UConn beat Notre Dame a month later. And we remember the 2010 team that assumed Howard's persona -- scrappy, emotional, unafraid -- and climbed to heights that no other UConn football team has reached.

"Jazz was an inspiration to everybody," said Moore, one of Howard's closest friends. "When (his murder) happened, how it brought the whole state of Connecticut together, as far as fans and the players -- they were really behind us. I feel like (a monument) would be good for the fans because they were a part of helping us get through, and I don't think it would have been the same without them."

"His death," Freeman said, "will forever be a part of the school's history."

Freeman, who grew up with Howard in Miami, was carrying the couple's unborn daughter at the time of the murder. At the time, she had never talked to Lisa Lowry.

So here's how this all got rolling: A season-ticket holder since Rentschler Field opened, the 46-year-old Lowry and her husband, Dan, first connected with Kashif Moore's father on The Boneyard, the message board reserved for the most die-hard Husky fans.

The Lowrys met up with the Moores at a tailgate, and they were later introduced to Kashif. Lisa Lowry met Howard a few times, too, but never became super-close with the charismatic corner. The family admired his exuberance from afar.

"There was something special about Jazz that everybody saw -- that smile," Lowry said. "When he did interviews, he would be cracking everybody up."

Her daughter, Abby, absolutely loved Howard. Abby was a senior in high school when he was stabbed to death; today she's a senior on the UConn women's rowing team, still wearing the No. 6 T-Shirt under her uniform.

After the murder, Lisa Lowry began texting with Freeman. That's when she promised Freeman, speaking on behalf of the fan base, that Howard wouldn't be forgotten.

Four and a half years have passed and they've remained in weekly contact. She's amazing, Freeman said.

"For her to put so much time and effort into this project, it speaks volumes about her character," Freeman said. "I love her."

Four and a half years have passed and time has run its course: Randy Edsall has left Storrs. Paul Pasqualoni, too. The UConn football makeover begins.

Moore, undrafted out of college, is now a Pittsburgh Steeler. Howard's other close friends, Sio Moore and Darius Butler, are in the NFL, too.

Daneisha Freeman still resides in Miami, raising her 4-year-old daughter while working toward her master's in social work at Barry University.

Ja'Miya Howard is in gymnastics, not yet in school. She knows Howard is in heaven, but she doesn't know why. Sometimes Daneisha will show Ja'Miya a photo and she'll say "that's my daddy!" What's his name?

"Jasper Howard!"

She's just like Jazz, Moore said. Never crying, always smiling. Recently, Moore visited Miami and took Ja'Miya to Toys "R" Us for her fourth birthday. New Barbies and lots of balloons.

Daneisha hopes she can take Ja'Miya to The Rent soon to visit the granite "6" with the brass plate photo of her father. She hopes the visit can help her daughter realize, "Wow, my dad was so loved and had such an impact on so many people."

She hopes that as UConn football evolves into whatever it ends up becoming, it doesn't neglect its past.